WOW Cafe & Grill Lives Up To Its Name

The WOW Cafe & Grill, at 12 Brighton 11 St near Cass Place, is a quaint and comfortable restaurant in a quiet corner of Brighton Beach.

Once called the Passion Juice Cafe, the WOW cafe changed ownership in May, but kept the juice bar, and cook. In the newly-owned WOW Cafe, the food is of particular focus. They have expanded their banquet and catering business to accommodate large parties.

We had dinner there to tell you what we think.

To start, we had homemade compote, which is a fruit mixture with water, sugar syrup, and other spices. It was served chilled and tasted like a rich but light fruit punch. On deck was the ginger shot. This wake-me-up is made with fresh ginger, lemon, orange, honey, and cayenne pepper. It is tart, and a little spicy. It’s also said to detoxify, lower blood pressure, increase energy, and boost immunity.

After the ginger shot, I had the WOW Cafe Signature Smoothie — a refreshing blend of blueberry, banana, mango, orange, and apple. The banana and blueberry are the most prevalent ingredients in this delicious smoothie.

I also tried the Green Goodness Detox juice. This thick, bright-green juice is made of green apple, celery, spinach, kale, cucumber, parsley, lemon, and ginger. After the first big gulp of the Green Goodness, I couldn’t help but sit a little straighter, because of how rich, nutritious and leafy it tasted.

For an appetizer, I had the homemade avocado salad, which is made with fresh avocado, cucumber, dill, red onion, aioli dressing, and served in avocado half-shells. It is similar to guacamole, but lighter and a little sweet. It is served with tortilla chips for dipping, and is the perfect warm-up for the hearty entrees on the menu.

I had the chicken schnitzel, wiener style, for my entree and it was not only delicious, but beautiful. It is a thinly-sliced chicken breast, sliced open and lightly breaded before being pan fried. It is then topped with butter sauce and capers. It also comes with a choice of two sides; I chose french fries and roasted vegetables. The vegetables come with a horseradish sauce that gives the asparagus, and peppers quite the kick.

My date had the picturesque eggs benedict with salmon — by the way, they serve breakfast all day! The benedict can come with spinach, avocado, asparagus, salmon, turkey, or pastrami. Each comes with a side of french fries and a mixed salad with vegetables and fruit with a light oil and vinegar dressing.

Although we had eaten our fill, we couldn’t help but have dessert. We chose their homemade tiramisu with rum. Designed beautifully on the plate, this rich and heavy dessert tastes of mocha and cream with a raspberry drizzle.

The WOW Cafe has a varied menu with an extensive list of dipping salads, soups, cold seafood appetizers, hot appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, pizza, seafood entrees, pasta, beef, and pork, stuffed baked potatoes, crepes, junk food favorites like chicken nuggets and popcorn shrimp, and desserts.

Besides the juice bar, there is a a wide selection of coffee, teas, espresso, cappuccino, lattes, and macchiato.

The decor is modern, but subtle. There are metal hanging lights with Edison bulbs to give a vintage feel. There is wood panelling on the walls, and metal wall fixtures inciting a victorian, yet industrial vibe. There are also power outlets at each table, so you can bring your work to breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

The WOW Cafe is open on Monday through Friday from 8am-9pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 10am-9pm, however they will adjust their hours to accommodate parties or events.